1. Rationale
This standard is being proposed to satisfy the requirements of H.R. 4212, the Drywall Safety Act of 2012 (the Act), which mandates the creation of a test method that would evaluate and set limits for the sulfur content of drywall. Another part of this Act required enhanced labeling requirements for drywall, which has been completed with a revision to C1264 in November 1, 2011. A copy of the Act is available as a supporting document in the Committee Documents area. Neither the act nor ASTM C11 provides a definition of the term drywall, thus, for the purpose of this revision to ASTM C471 Test Methods and other product standards, drywall will be construed to be equivalent to the generic term, gypsum panel products, as published in ASTM C1110a. Consultants for the Consumer Products Safety Commission (CPSC) identified an allotrope of elemental sulfur, known as S8, to be present in drywall products that exhibit the so-called Chinese drywall syndrome where a corrosive sulfur compound is emitted from the drywall that attacks various reactive metals, primarily copper. This test method has been proposed by the CPSC as the mechanism to identify drywall products that will be subject to the Act. This test method is a proposed addition to ASTM Test Method C471 to be inserted after Section 16 which will require the renumbering of all subsequent sections. Until approval, the section/paragraph numbers will remain as shown in the attached test method. A revision will also be required to paragraph 1.2, which tabularizes the test methods present in this standard.
Keywords
ammonium acetate method; atomic absorption; chemical analysis; coulometric method; flame photometry; gypsum; gypsum concrete; gypsum board; gypsum products; plaster; sand in set plaster; wood-fiber plaster ;
Citing ASTM Standards
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